Chassis Number Issue

[Guido36]

Here is a strange anomaly where a BN7 was assigned a BT7 chassis number by the factory when built.

1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk I BN7

Gooding & Company is recognized the world over as a leading automotive auction house specializing in the finest antique, classic, sports and racing cars.

www.goodingco.com

This comment on the same BN7 comes from https://www.supercars.net/blog/1961→1962-austin-healey-3000-mkii-bn7/

“As a 1961 model, this beautifully restored two-seater Austin-Healey Mk I is a rare sight. Rarer still, it was built for the UK market in right- hand-drive configuration. Though reporting of production numbers varies slightly among sources, it is possible that as few as 17 such home- market examples were built in 1961 prior to the introduction of the 3000 Mk II. Although the BMI Hertiage certificate confirms that this car is a BN7, the original data tag was incorrectly stamped HBT7.
Auction Source: The Amelia Island Auction 2012 by Gooding & Company.”


I have recently come across another BN7 - this one a factory LHD 1961 MkII - with a BT7 chassis number/VIN and a BN7 batch/body tag, both of which appear to be original tags - not reproductions - and wondered if anyone owns or knows of any others mismatched from the factory? The batch number/body tag correctly identifies it as a BN7. BMIHT has confirmed that these tags with the BN7 body number and BT7 chassis number are the ones from their build records for this BN7.

 

[Editor_Reid]

Frankly it would be laughable if an auction house were to claim the incorrect chassis number is a factory mistake. Not that it could never have happened, but the far, far, far more likely reason would be that the chassis number plate had been switched at some point in the 60 years of the car's unknown history.

Beverly Hills Car Club - a car dealer, not a club - has a two-seat tri-carb with European-delivery spec side lights up front (two small side lamps under each headlamp, and that must be just ultra rare on a two-seat tri-carb of which only 355 were made) and that car has a BT7 chassis plate. I saw it last month. The BT7 plate on it looks like an original. It most likely is. It just isn't the original one for that BN7.

That tri-carb also has a body number that includes "BN7" and so from that number it may be possible to establish the correct chassis number for the car, although it would likely require an Act of Congress to get the title changed.

Unless someone has been standing guard on the car every day for 60 years, I'd bet 50 to 1 that a BT7 chassis plate on a BN7 is the result of fraud, not error.

I'm sure that mistakes were made on the Abingdon assembly line, but the number of fraudulent chassis plate switches must outnumber them by a four-figure quantity, at least.

 

[Jack T]

After hitting a deer at 70 mph in 1971 I bought a BT7 that had been rear-ended for parts to rebuild my car. I still have the parts car's data plate and title. It would be simple to slap the plate on another car and register it.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

But why? IMO, a BN7--a two-seat roadster--is more desirable than a 2+2 (and the market apparently thinks so, too). I could see someone trying to pass off a 2+2 as a roadster, but not the other way around.

 

[Jack T]

We're talking about something that could have happened 50 or more years ago when people didn't know an Austin Healey from a Triumph.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

We're talking about something that could have happened 50 or more years ago when people didn't know an Austin Healey from a Triumph.

I did. That's a pretty blanket statement, given I suspect most people on this forum are 'boomers' (give-or-take), and it's generally accepted that people like the cars--and music--that was popular in their teens, twenties and early thirties (any hip-hop or rap fans here?). I first noticed Austin-Healeys in my early teens--circa 1966--but only the 6-cyl cars as the 4-cyl cars were 'before my time.'

 

[BoyRacer]

The most likely scenario is that one acquired the 2 seater with no title. Then attached the VIN plate and firewall tags from a BT7 that had a title but no car and then sold the car with no disclosure. There was a time when many Healey owners did not know how to decipher the VIN or care to know. I acquired my first Healeys in the 70s. They were just daily drivers for me as they also were for some of my other friends. Some didn't know a BN4 from a BJ7 and that may still be true today.

 

[John Turney]

I did. That's a pretty blanket statement, given I suspect most people on this forum are 'boomers' (give-or-take), and it's generally accepted that people like the cars--and music--that was popular in their teens, twenties and early thirties (any hip-hop or rap fans here?). I first noticed Austin-Healeys in my early teens--circa 1966--but only the 6-cyl cars as the 4-cyl cars were 'before my time.'

There are still people in our age group who don't know the difference. They're not on this Forum, though.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Someone knew the difference well enough to grab a Healey--not a Triumph--VIN plate from a junkyard.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

Y'all would be simply amazed at how many BJ8s are running around now with incorrect identities. A couple months ago, a BJ8 was offered at auction claiming to be chassis 37558. But the body plate belonged to 41854, according to BMIHT data residing in the BJ8 Registry. That was most interesting to me because I had been trying to sort out a conflict in identities involving 41854 and 34876 since 1999. The auction house representative was interested enough to work with me to try to determine the original identity of the car. We found that EVERY serialized part on the car belonged to 41854, except the VIN plate. The car was pulled from the auction, and the last I heard the owner was going to try to get the VIN corrected. The BJ8 Registry could help with that, but I never heard from the owner. I haven't seen it come up for sale anywhere else, either, but I suspect when it does, it will be as 37558.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Y'all would be simply amazed at how many BJ8s are running around now with incorrect identities. A couple months ago, a BJ8 was offered at auction claiming to be chassis 37558. But the body plate belonged to 41854, according to BMIHT data residing in the BJ8 Registry. That was most interesting to me because I had been trying to sort out a conflict in identities involving 41854 and 34876 since 1999. The auction house representative was interested enough to work with me to try to determine the original identity of the car. We found that EVERY serialized part on the car belonged to 41854, except the VIN plate. The car was pulled from the auction, and the last I heard the owner was going to try to get the VIN corrected. The BJ8 Registry could help with that, but I never heard from the owner. I haven't seen it come up for sale anywhere else, either, but I suspect when it does, it will be as 37558.

How about the shock tower vin?

 

[BJ8Healeys]

How about the shock tower vin?

Yes, it was also HBJ8L/41854. The only thing on the car that didn't belong to 41854 was the VIN plate.